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About 200 loans of up to $100,000 each will be available. Truckers also would be eligible for state grants toward the purchase of newer rigs.

Administered by the Houston-Galveston Area Council, the program also will provide loans for the purchase of equipment that reduces emissions from the diesel-burning trucks.

More than 3,000 trucks operate in and around the port, and many of the truckers are independent owner-operators who might not earn enough to replace older rigs.

Rick Maddox, president of Canal Cartage, which operates more than 150 trucks in the port each day, said he welcomed the loan offer and encouraged drivers to take advantage of it.

“This funding will help us to meet new standards” for emissions, Maddox said.

Houston's air is considered among the dirtiest in the country. A newer, cleaner fleet would reduce tons of smog-forming pollution and tiny airborne particulates that are linked to cancer and other illnesses.